O2 is expanding its telecoms empire a little, adding landlines to the package of services that it offers to its customers. From March, O2 Broadband customers will be able to get a landline package added to their phone bill.

There'll be two options - an "Evening & Weekend" bundle for £9.50 per month, which includes unlimited calls to UK homes on evenings and weekends, and an "Anytime" bundle that gives you unlimited free calls at any time to other landlines. It also offers unlimited calls to 0845/0870 numbers, landlines in 20 mostly-European countries, and mobiles in the USA and Canada, but there's a fair usage policy on those.

There's a bunch of bolt-ons, too. Call Divert, Call Barring, Caller Display, Call Waiting, Anonymous Call Block, Ring Back, Three Way Calling, Alarm Call and Block Numbers are all available for £1.75 per month each, or available in a series of bundles for slightly cheaper. Voicemail can be added for £1 per month.

O2 says: "Launching Home Phone is an important next step for us in our strategy of moving beyond mobile to becoming a leading connectivity brand. It’s probably the most significant launch for us in the home market since we launched broadband back in 2007".

If you're interested, you can sign up for notification of availability on O2's website. Now O2 just needs a television package, and it'll be a full-fledged telecoms giant along the lines of Virgin Media and BT. We'll keep you posted.